Born and raised a gypsy in the late eleventh century, Teman values freedom over everything. He and his best friend, Jasim, are thieves for hire—until one night they’re caught and their precious freedom is revoked. Given the choice between the dungeons or palace pleasure slavery, they become slaves, but Teman vows to escape someday.

Bathasar doesn’t want the throne. He supports his brother instead, which suits their sadistic father, Mukesh. When Teman, the handsome slave Bathasar has secretly been watching, saves his life, Bathasar requests a slave for the first time. Before long, Bathasar and Teman fall in love. But all is not well. One day Mukesh brutalizes Teman before the court, angering the empress of a neighboring nation. To appease her, he then offers her Jasim as a gift, and Teman decides to stay with Bathasar for now—despite the abuse he may suffer.

The peace doesn’t last. Mukesh plans to invade Jasim’s new country, and Bathasar must find a way to stop the destruction. But if he succeeds, he’ll ascend to the throne and have the power to grant Teman his liberty. Then Teman will surely leave him. What other choice could a gypsy make?

****this review contains spoilers****

Choices, by Grace R. Duncan, follows a gypsy slave Teman and his master, the amir (prince) Bathasar. There was quite a bit that I loved about this book. The dynamic between Teman and Bathasar was perfect, the way Bathasar tried his best to make them as equal as possible, while Teman struggled with his desire to submit to his master. On top of that, I was happy that Jasim found happiness in the end as well. Relationships aside, the political aspect of it, with the planned assassination was amazing and I loved that the malik ended up dying because he was just a terrible person anyway. The manner of his death, too, was incredibly fitting.

On the other hand, there were a few things that I didn’t particularly care for. Three, in particular. The first was Cyrus and Nadir’s relationship, and the way they fit in with everyone else. Poly relationships can work really well, but this one just didn’t…click. It wasn’t quite poly, but it wasn’t quite monogamous, either. While Cyrus and Nadir did love each other, it didn’t really feel like it all the time. At times, it felt like Nadir loved Jasim more than he loved Cyrus, and the same with Cyrus and Teman. That part left me more than a bit confused, and I wasn’t particularly fond of it. Additionally, the setting was a bit confusing. The book was supposed to be set in a fantasy world, with fantasy kingdoms, and yet there were pieces of our own world, like the mention of Beowulf. So that threw me just a bit. Thirdly, and this is completely my own personal taste, there was far too much focus on denial. The first few times was great, but eventually it became a bit repetitive, and I have to admit I skimmed over those parts toward the end.

Overall, though, this was a really good book, and I highly recommend it to people who love master/slave relationships, menage scenes, and orgasm denial. A bit of warning, there is a lot of violence in the book, done by the malik, but it isn’t condoned at all. So just take note of that.

******WARNING*******
This is not a story about a hero, or some bad boy-badass-antihero.
This is a love story between two monstrous villains and one valiant kid, held together by their entwined heartstrings.
It won’t be pretty.
It won’t be pleasant.
There’s no fluffy good feelings about it.
It will rip out your heart and never give it back.

Breno Hades el Oscuro took no bullshit from anyone. He ruled the crime world of the United States. When the King fell, what was left in the ashes was not the small boy that grew up without his father, not the same kid that chose a life of crime at seventeen, nor was it the King who had killed and clawed through a river of blood to stand at the top.

The King was dragged from his throne of bones into a deep dark pit, leaving only the raw flesh of a savage monster to crawl out of Hell.
One that knew love, but didn’t want it again.

Kemono Orochi was destined to inherit the legacy of his father, known as The Dragon’s Tongue. It was an inheritance he never wanted it, never desiring the power that came with the title of Dragon. Kemono ended it all by tearing off the Dragon’s head, watching the serpent’s remains be consumed in hellfire. Now tormented by the scars of his past inflicted by his father, he is struggling to come to terms with the Akuma he has become.

One that wants to devour everyone in his path to protect the only one that matters to him.

The only person that had ever made his icy heart beat.

His heart. His love. His beautiful pride.

Rex Hunter dreams of becoming a principal ballerino…all fierce, like a Phoenix. But this Phoenix has lost his wings and fallen prey, straight into the clutched claws and callus hands of two vicious beasts. Each bore the blackest of hearts, each desiring to keep him safe, cherished and loved unconditionally. Or was Rex just destined to be the goo that would stick two shattered souls together and prevent them from forever falling to pieces?

There will be blood, gore and nasty shit.

There will be watersports, crude, angry, sometimes sensual and other times just downright dirty and dysfunctional sex.

BUT…

There will always be LOVE…

Because even villains understand the tortured scars love leaves in its wake.

Holy crap!!!!! This book was raw, dirty, a hot mess, amazing, confusing at times but guess what? I flipping LOVED it! There was so much going on in this book and I can’t even begin to give it justice, I am not a in anyway shape or form a write but damn, this book was amazing! I thought the first book in the series was great, but this one, this one just blew me away and then that damn ending, WHAT THE HELL????? I cannot wait for the next book, so good! If I could give this book 10 stars I would in a heartbeat!

Angie

So to start of this book I have to say this was very dark and gritty!

I have to say Hades character was bad ass! He was someone you do not want to mess with unless he cared about you then he was so very protective and caring in his own way.

You do see characters from the first book in the series in this one along with many other characters too. There was so much angst, action and steam in this book. I thought the author did a very good job writing these characters and this story! I was grabbed once I started this book and I have to admit I loved the dark and grittiness of it!

Then there was the ending which ugh I can’t even go there… I do not want to give away any spoilers so I will just leave this review with I thought this book was amazing and so very good! I loved it and would recommend it!

The White House has ordered the execution of a highly sensitive covert operation in dragon-occupied territory. Though a Slash Op has a zero percent survival rate, the commanding general is forced to enlist his most prized officer for the task.

Major Gideon is embarking on his first mission in the dragon district. Yet Gideon has hardly recovered from all that Drago made him endure. For the past three months, Gideon has been plagued with dreams of dragons terrorizing him, but his dreams have gradually turned into sexual fantasies. Despite coming to terms with his longing to have Drago in bed, Gideon cannot suppress his desire to beat Drago’s face in. When Gideon is called for a mission in the most dangerous district on Earth, what freaks him out the most is the prospect of seeing Drago again.

Content Advisory: Graphic violence, dragon sex, & non-con.

This was the second part of the story after DragoStar. I didn’t think I could like the story more after the first part, but I was pleasantly surprised. This was excellent. I really enjoyed getting to know more about Gideon and Drago.

This book had some seriously intense dragon scenes that had me ducking for cover while reading as fast as I could. So good! I couldn’t get through it fast enough!

I can’t wait for more!!

Renee

And with each book it just keeps getting better and better.

Gideon is back with Drago once again and this time things change between them. Gideon cannot quit thinking about Drago after the specialized training in the last book and he is hating himself for it. Drago does not think he is capable of having romantic feeling la for anyone much less a human but that is proven wrong when slash ops is given the go ahead. The real question is just how far is Drago willing to go to protect Gideon and is it all for the mission or is it something real.

I have to say that normally I am not big on paranormal reads but I so captivated by this series that I could not put it down. J. Johanis was able to capture my attention in book one and now he has me held captive with book two. Cannot wait for book three to come out. This is an awesome series but fore warning there are intense sense of what can be perceived as rape and violence so if you have triggers for that this is not the book for you.

Captain Gideon’s military training taught him never to fall for his captor, but when he’s sold to a sexy dragon shifter, Gideon discovers that training is much easier than real life. Drago Star is about survival, resistance, and escape when faced with an enemy who’s not afraid to use his deadliest weapon: a dangerous mixture of persuasion, seduction, and animistic lust that cannot be sated.

——–

Captain Gideon is a candidate at the Drago Star Academy and well on his way to fulfilling his lifelong dream—to be a Star Commander and fight the alien insurgency on Earth.

However, before he can complete his training, he is captured by an unknown entity who sells him to a sadistic alien master. He strives to follow his military training, but nothing can prepare him for the abuse he endures at the hands of his deviant captors.

Despite his disorientation, Gideon realizes things are not as they seem. Though his captors appear to be slavers, they have the resources of a government or rebel entity. To complicate matters, the air smells different, the people look strange, and the light of the sun is all wrong. Gideon’s only hope is escape, but if they’ve taken him from his home planet, is escape even possible?

This was a fun, twisted story. I have to say that it is definitely what I would consider a dark story, but it was so well written that I actually enjoyed it.

I loved the way the entire story, twist and all was put together along with the dark aspects that were tastefully done even though they were non-con.

I’m so excited to have stumbled upon this story after reading other stories by this author and happy to say they are just as well written and captivating!

Renee

Wow. Just wow. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this book. This is the first book I have read by J. Johanis and I have to admit I am intrigued and looking forward to the next book.

The main character in this book Gideon. He is goin through some specialized training at DragoStar academy. While going through the training he was given a waiver to sign in which he did not read and just signed. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!

The next thing he knows he wakes up and is being held captive by a Dragon shifter on a foreign planet.

Gideon is put through all sorts of unimaginable things and even though a normal person would have broke, Gideon doesn’t.

As I said this book took me by surprise but I am not disappointed that I read it. I would recommend it to others to read and cannot wait to read book 2.

A partner he could trust. That’s what Prince Heir Ilyas wanted most in the world. Instead, he spent his days alone defending his future throne from his younger brothers and reaping the rewards of their estates. But when he receives his latest conquest, a slave named Jem, he’s abducted to the far reaches of a frozen wasteland to be sacrificed to Jem’s backwater god.

Someone who would see him. The one thing Jem knows he can never have. Instead, Jem walks the world searching for the sacrifice that will save the people who fear and shun him — the beautiful and proud Ilyas. Capturing Ilyas might have been simple, but keeping him safe for his god is another matter.

Trapped in their struggle and tight quarters, they’re both haunted by the whisper in each other of the warmth they dared not dream for. But nothing can stop the Dark God from coming. Nothing short of death. Can one kill the other? Or will they both be destroyed?

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s“Love is an Open Road” event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

Dear Author,
It’s been seasons since I last saw this place. It feels good to be home, the crisp smell of frost and the vast expanse of ice still lonely, but familiar companions. I’ve been away for far too long, seeking a way to heal my people, a way to prove myself. When I was ready to give up, I finally found it, in that place where the earth scorches and the sun never sets. He rides beside me now, my kingdom’s last hope, a prince from that land of fire. His posture is regal, proud, oblivious to the fact that he is a captive and his days are numbered. Something in me twists painfully at the thought, but I ignore it, stare determinedly ahead. My people’s fate hangs in the balance and I must not falter. I cannot afford any weakness.

Photo Description:Photo 1: An ornate gold sarcophagus glints in the firelight.Photo 2: In the midst of an eternal ice-land and at the edge of an ocean; two travellers hike towards a city made of ice.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

This was an… interesting story.. I was pretty confused for some parts of the book as there were secrets being kept hidden (and for good reason), but that didn’t help me early on. Like trying to figure out who is the slave and who isn’t.. it was just.. oddly written I suppose.

But after that it was actually a really really good story. There are some crazy things going on that we don’t find out the explanations for until the end, but it was a really cool book to read. I was very excited to read as the two characters battled wills against each other.

And the farther into the story you get the more you learn about this poor village they are in and why it is the way it is. Then you get to learn all sorts of other little treats (or what felt that way to me as the reader) about the characters in the story.

I very much so enjoyed the story except for the heavy confusion early on and the whole how the prince came to be a slave thing at first (which was better explained later on).

Eli is an ancient vampire with an ego the size of a planet and a sex drive to match, but his tumultuous past left him broken, so he hides from humanity and cowers from love, left to endure the crushing guilt that haunts his every waking moment. Even his best friend Malachi, a ghost who is hopelessly in love with Eli, remains unaware of all that transpired in London. Malachi can never know the truth.

When the Angel Daniyyel pays an unwelcome visit, Eli must face his secrets, secrets that he has tried so long to hide. To make matters worse, a chance encounter with the most beautiful man he has ever seen shatters his beloved isolation, pushing him into the world of the living once more. Something about this strange man seems so familiar, but Eli can’t even remember who he was before he became a vampire, never mind explain the unwanted emotions the enigmatic stranger ignites in his dead heart. So Eli has a choice—return to the world that ruined him, or continue his self-imposed exile with no hope of salvation.

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. The title is the worst thing about this book. I mean, I get it, it’s about an effeminate gay ghost who’s “campy.” And Dead. But the book is so much more.

Brooding, broken Eli is a sarcastic but lovable homosexual vampire obsessed with sex and afraid of his own capacity for violence. His best friend is Malachi the ghost. They are both hiding from their past, quite literally in a castle in the middle of the woods.

Surrounded by Nazis.

Seriously, this book is the best. It’s a great pleasure to read. There’s a lot of sex, obviously. And a lot of gore. Eli is not a sparkly vampire, he is an ancient evil. And I’m obsessed with him.

~C. E. Case

Three prisoners had died in my block that night, two elderly and one young man not old enough to grow pubes. It sickened me. Never, in all my years, had I witnessed such a callous waste of human life. And then to see my fellow prisoners undressing the dead, striping their cold stiff bodies before my unbelieving eyes horrified me even more, and I clung onto Jakob’s broken body for dear life. All around me the clunk of bodies against wood and concrete. My eyes tried not to see and my ears tried not to hear.

A cold clammy hand gently caressed my arm and I nearly shot off my shelf in shock. I didn’t scream. I refused to scream.

“My friend, I’m sorry, my friend, but you must undress him. The rubbish men will be here soon and you must strip him of all clothing before they take him. Please, you must do this for him—they will be less kind than you. Do you understand?”

“Why? Why must we do this?”

“His clothes are of value, my friend. They will be re-used for the next intake.”

“And what of his body, what will become of Jakob?”

“You don’t want to know, my friend.” His whispered words made every hair on my body stand on end. A sound outside caused him to return to his unsavoury task with renewed urgency. “Quickly, they are here.”

What followed felt like a dream. I had undressed many a man under many circumstances, but that was a first. Already poor Jakob stiffened, and it pained me to hear and feel his bones crack as I gently prised his pale thin body from the clothes. I whispered my apologies into his unhearing ears and I hated my eyes for glancing across his pale dead flesh.

I had to free them, all of them. That place, that death camp, it had to end.

I lifted his dead naked body into my arms. Emotion, so alien to me, invaded the shrivelled blackness that was my soul, and I knew my eyes betrayed my grief.

Emotions made you weak. Emotions made you vulnerable, emotions hurt. And I was hurting. The passing of that human, that mortal man I had known for less than a day, had brought back that affliction from which I had been running from for so very long.

I had only opened my heart to the world again but for the briefest of moments.

How I would crave for his touch, how desperate I was for his love, to feel the thrill of his fingers upon my bare flesh, to feel his attraction to me, to feel wanted. But all he ever did was refuse me. Every time I tried to touch him, he turned me away. He was not in the mood, he told me to come back later.

Come back later.

But later never came.

I carried that pale body into the grey wet misery of morning. The sun was trying desperately to penetrate the thick layers of brooding clouds that clung stubbornly over the camp, but the sun was losing. Rain dripped incessantly from the skies, melting the remaining snow into a muddy slush. Grey skies, grey ground, grey people. The camp drained the colour out of everything. Welwelsburg was like me, a vampire, sucking the life out of everything it encountered, sucking away hope and dignity, leaving nothing but pale grey husks clinging to the brink of existence.

Two men stood next to a large flatbed trolley. Dead, naked bodies lay crumpled in a pile on top of the trolley, legs and arms sticking out at all angles like some grotesque starfish. I saw children amongst the corpses.

Pale white flickering figures surrounded the trolley. Insubstantial wisps of lives spent before their time. The rubbish men looked at me expectantly but I could not move for the sight of those spectral beings and I clutched Jakob’s dead body tightly to my chest, unwilling to relinquish my charge. If I put him on that trolley then he would be dead, another lump of cold meat on the pile. He deserved more than that.

The ghostly figures turned to look at me, each one knowing me, seeing me, seeing me see them. And they smiled at me. Cold shivering prickles erupted across my skin as their eyes took me in and they were such kind eyes, such trusting eyes. A figure pushed its way between them, its shadowy form brushing gently against the others as it came to stand before me.

In a world where magic is real and evil walks amongst humanity, a young sorcerer is beset upon by enemies, both old and new. Angelus Salvatore is the only necromancer in all of Boston, and his name is whispered warily by the undead and fellow sorcerers alike. He and his brother Isaac are the lone survivors of an attack by an army of the undead, in which Angel used a spell so powerful it forever marked his place in history. Now, years later, Angel struggles to balance his career as a teacher of the higher magical arts, his role as big brother, and a tenuous relationship with an Elder vampire from the local clan. When his brother’s boyfriend is used as a pawn in a mysterious plot to draw Angel out, Angel is once again drawn back into the old hostilities that fueled the Blood Wars and led to his family’s death.

Leaning on others for help is something Angel cannot do, and while he searches for clues into who may be targeting him and his brother, Angel finds his heart steadily growing occupied with Simeon, Elder and vampire. Dealing with death magic and vampires on a daily basis may leave Angel jaded when it comes to life and staying that way, but the more time he spends fending off the ancient vampire’s attention and affections, the more he realizes he wants to give in.

Can Angel find out who wants him dead, and keep his heart safe in the process? How can he fall for a vampire, when his whole family was torn apart by an army of the undead?

Death stalks the streets of Boston’s historic Beacon Hill….and there is no one more suited to battle against death than a necromancer.

He must have passed out, too damn tired from a long day at work, interrupted sleep, and a semi-major working that consumed a huge portion of his reserves. It took power to use power, and even though Angel fueled the spell with ambient magic, he still had to control and shape the working. It was a bitch, doing magic cold like that, and he would have been better off if he hadn’t gone into it stressed out and tired. Not to mention he couldn’t remember the last time he ate anything more substantial than tea and a muffin. Isaac moving out meant Angel forgot to eat more often than not.

Angel woke wrapped up in his favorite blanket, his bed warm and welcoming. Something was tickling his face, and he worked a hand free from under the blanket to swipe at his cheek. Feeling cool skin and soft lips, Angel opened his eyes.

He was in Simeon’s arms, laying half on his clothed chest, their faces so close together the vampire’s deep green eyes were all he could see.

Angel’s hand was caught up in Simeon’s, their fingers intertwining. Angel’s eyes drifted shut as Simeon closed the tiny distance between them, his soft and cool lips ghosting over Angel’s. He pulled in a deep breath of Simeon-flavored air, the vampire’s scent filling his mouth and nose.

The scent of fresh blood was in there too—Simeon must have fed before taking Angel home, the potent tang of hot metal impossible to miss. The sensation of Simeon’s lips barely touching Angel’s did unrepeatable things to his nervous system, setting him on fire with a cool flame.

His body jerked, just a little, freezing and alternately relaxing as Simeon’s lips settled over his in a full kiss, with a hint of tongue and the nip of sharp teeth.